STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS TAKING OVER THE INVESTIGATION. ORANGE COUNTY PARENTS WANT ANSWERS AFTER AN 11-YEAR-OLD WAS MISTAKENLY RELEASED FROM SCHOOL. THIS BOY RIGHT HERE IS HOWIE DARDEN. MOM HAD JUST LOST CUSTODY OF HIM. SHE WAS WEARING A GPS ANKLE BRACELET. BOTH WERE FOUND ALL THE WAY UP IN NORTH CAROLINA. AS LOCAL 6'S NICOLE PERSECKY REPORTS, THE FOCUS TURNS TO THE BREAK DOWN IN SCHOOL SECURITY. Reporter: OFFICIALS WILL SAY THE EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MISTAKE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION AND NOT WORKING AT THE FRONT DESK. BUT PARENTS HERE SAY THEY ARE WORRIED, THEY WONDER HOW IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE. SHE SNAPPED. HOWARD IS RELIEVED HIS 11-YEAR-OLD SON WAS FOUND SAFE. FOR MORE THAN TWO DAYS, HE WORRIED HIS SON WOULD BE HARMED BY THIS WOMAN, HIS MOTHER, ANGELA DARDEN. SHE SNATCHED HIM FROM THIS SCHOOL DESPITE A COURT ORDER TAKING AWAY HER CUSTODY RIGHTS. I DON'T HAVE ILL WILL AGAINST THE SCHOOL MAINLY BECAUSE I KNOW HOW ANGELA IS, SHE IS HE'LL OH A COUPLE SPOTTED THE MOM'S CAR AT A NORTH CAROLINA SHOPPING MALL BUT WAS SPRAY PAINTED BLACK. SAW HIM, SAW THE CAR, PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER. ON TUESDAY MORNING, DEPUTIES SAY ANGELA CONVINCE AND EMPLOYEE AT PIEDMONT LAKES MIDDLE SCHOOL TO RELEASE HER SON FROM CLASS. SHE THEN REMOVED HER GPS BRACELET AND LATER SENT A TROUBLING TEXT MESSAGE THAT GAVE LAW ENFORCEMENT CONCERNS ABOUT HOWIE'S SAFETY OTHER PARENTS WANT TO KNOW HOW IT MISTAKE COULD HAVE HAPPENED. WHEN YOU CHECK A CHILD OUT, YOU HAVE TO SIGN. SIGNATURES, NEED TO BE MATCHED. THEY NEED TO SEE WHO HAS PERMISSION AND WHO DOES NOT. THAT MOTHER ALSO TRIED TO CHECK HER YOUNGER SON OUT AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BUT OFFICIALS WOULD NOT RELEASE HIM. IN APOPKA, NICOLE PERSECKY, LOCAL 6. IN 2007, ANGELA WAS ACCUSED OF STALKING AND HARASSING STUDENTS AND THREATENING TO KILLAL TEACHER. AS A RESULT, HER DAUGHTER, WHO IS THE SCHOOL VALEDICTORIAN, WAS NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE HER

APOPKA, Fla. -

A missing child alert was canceled Thursday for an 11-year-old Apopka boy after he was found safe in North Carolina, officials said.

Howard Darden was last seen Tuesday in the 2600 block of Lakeville Road near Piedmont Lakes Middle School in Apopka, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

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Thursday evening, authorities said Darden was found in North Carolina with his mother, 45-year-old Angela Darden.

A couple who had learned about Howard Darden's disappearance on a TV newscast located the missing boy outside a North Carolina shopping mall around 7:15 p.m.

According to investigators, the couple noticed the Florida license plate on Angela Darden's yellow VW Beetle, which had been spray-painted black.

Elizabeth City police found the 11-year-old boy inside the car uninjured. They later located his mother inside the mall.

Deputies said Angela Darden had removed her son from school at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday without his father's permission.

According to deputies, Angela Darden was on GPS monitoring for an aggravated stalking incident involving the child’s father. Within hours of taking the child from school, Darden cut off her ankle bracelet, deputies said.

The equipment removal notified authorities and the child’s father.

The Sheriff's Office said Angela Darden and the child’s father had obtained court orders in different jurisdictions, with each order granting full custody to the requesting parent. Darden was scheduled to appear at a hearing Wednesday morning, but when she failed to appear, her custody of the child expired, deputies said.

"A middle school child was released to a parent who was under court orders to have no contact with her children," said Woody Rodriguez, General Counsel of the District. "The parent presented the school employee with her ID and alleged to have court papers that provided her with authority. It appears this parent is in violation of the court order and is being sought by the authorities."

Late Wednesday night, according to deputies, Angela Darden sent a very concerning text message to a family member. Deputies said Angela Darden has a history of instability and the child was believed to be in danger.

"In this case, the employee is under investigation for releasing the child to the parent," said Shari Bobinksi of OCPS. "The employee is not working at the front desk."

Angela Darden was arrested and charged with violating a court order. Investigators said additional charges may be filed. She was booked into the Pasquotank County Jail in Elizabeth City, N.C. on Thursday night and will be extradited at an undetermined time to Seminole County, where she will have a first appearance on grand theft charges and violating probation.

Howard Darden was placed in the custody of social services and is expected to be returned to his father on Friday.

Local 6 spoke to Howard's father who said he's relieved his son was found safe.

"I don't have any ill will against the school, mainly because I know how Angela is," his father said. "She's elegant. She's great with her words. She saw an opportunity."

According to school records, Angela Darden was accused of stalking and harassing students and threatening to kill a teacher in 2007. As a result, her daughter, the school valedictorian, was not allowed to give her graduation speech live, leading the protests at Jones High School.

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